Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 532 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,779 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 532 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $10.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $980.91. 1,675,470 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,222,906. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $435.01 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,003.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $982.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.